Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach saved from the auction block

If local business partners Dale Lomas and Mike Subrick have anything to do about it, the Blue Moon restaurant in Rehoboth Beach isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

A new lease has been signed and the iconic restaurant has been saved, said Lomas. The main goal all along was to buy the property and then come to an arrangement that would allow for Blue Moon to continue, he said.

“This is a good thing for everybody,” he said, in an interview April 28.

Founded in 1981 on Baltimore Avenue, Randy Haney and Tim Ragan have owned the restaurant since 2008.

The property was listed for sale at $4.5 million in late 2025. A few months later, the property was one of dozens listed by the Sussex County Sheriff Department set to be auctioned off April 21. According to documents from the county sheriff’s office, a little more than $3 million was owed to the bank. The day before the auction, the status of the listing had been changed to “stayed” and it was removed from the auction.

Lomas said he and Subrick, who own Atlantic Liquors together, were interested in the property when it was originally listed, but it was also a lot of money and a busy time of year, so it kind of fell to the back burner. Shortly before the auction was to take place, Realtor Carrie Lingo, who had the listing, reached back out, he said.

Lomas said several well-known restaurants have left downtown Rehoboth and he didn’t want to see it happen again. An opportunity to reinvest in the community presented itself and they decided to do it, he said.

Lingo said when Haney and Ragan reached out months ago, all the different scenarios were discussed. It would have been nice to see it all bought at once, but it doesn’t always work out, she said.

Lingo credited Leslie Savage, a sales agent on her team and Lomas’ cousin, with continuing to pursue a way to make it work. If it had gone to sheriff sale, she said, it could have been demolished and redeveloped, and no one wanted to see that happen.

“The Moon needed to be saved. This was a collaboration of so many good people coming together to make it work,” said Lingo.

Standing on the restaurant’s steps next to Lomas, Ragan said he and Haney couldn’t be happier with the way things worked out. Lomas and Subrick are a perfect fit and they respect what the Blue Moon brings to Rehoboth, he said.

In addition to the restaurant space, the property also has a handful of grandfathered apartments.

It’s a nice piece of property, said Lomas.

Looking forward, Haney said there aren't any changes coming to the Blue Moon menu. In fact, he said, the restaurant returns to its seven-days-a-week summer schedule next week.

Lingo said the restaurant only is expected to be relisted for sale in the future. In the mean time, this ownership change allows everyone to take a breath and figure out the best path forward, she said.